Monster Scholar

Englund calls himself the “poor man’s…Vincent Price” of our generation and has become a horror icon with his repeated performances as Freddy Krueger in the N ightmare on Elm Street series. Aside from his most prolific screen role, Englund has also appeared in a film version of The Phantom of the Opera (1989), Hatchet (2006), Zombie Strippers! (2008) and popular television shows including The Simpsons , Sliders , Nightrider and even Walker Texas Ranger . But at heart, Englund is committed to horror and differs from other "actors who go on talk shows apologizing for being in a horror movie. And then it comes out and it's dreadful because they didn't really embrace the genre.'' Englund is currently working in pre-production on 2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys (2009) and 2001 Maniacs: The Hillbillys Have Eyes (2010) both remakes/sequels of goremeister Herschell Gordon Lewis’s original Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964). Robert Englund Trivia: Englund auditioned for the ...

Never shame a gypsy! “I got you, you old bitch!”—Christine Brown Run, don’t walk to your nearest multiplex then push, shove, and elbow every man, woman, and child in your frenzied scramble to the ticket counter. It’s worth it. I enjoyed the pleasure of Drag Me To Hell at the 10:15 showing last night. The audience included myself, my husband and a smattering of college students, with one particularly devoted fan sporting an Army of Darkness t-shirt The opening scene of Sam Raimi ’s return to horror kicks you in the gut like an Army mule and he wastes little foreplay before throwing you into the abyss. Raimi has a gift for the arcane, and like the Book of the Dead and Kandarian demons from Evil Dead , in Drag Me to Hell he creates a new universe of monstrous lore. The Lamia is a vile demon that gypsies can sick on their enemies by cursing an object that belongs to them and returning it. The Lamia comes to torment the owner of the object for three days (i.e. visual and auditory h...

PETA is going to be pissed. So, I just got a chance to watch and respond to the New Moon trailer. Unlike some of my comrade bloggers in horror, I am not completely disgusted by Twilight , perhaps because I won't allow myself to dignify this film with such a strong response. I can take it or leave depending on the day (Wednesdays are good), the tides and if I've eaten. But as a woman I have major problems with the character of Bella who (more than ever in the trailer) seems to need a man in one form or another to "protect" her when the shit hits the fan. Whatever happened to the Jamie Lee Curtis's and other final girls of the world who didn't need any help to put down a knife-weilding psychopath? Though I admit that Twilight and the upcoming New Moon are definite soft-core derivatives of the horror genre, I had hoped that aside from ditching the gore they wouldn't flush feminist gains the down the crapper too. Taylor Launter (Jacob), with his brooding ...

With permission from Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert , writer Mark Verheiden set out to do what seemed like the impossible, and recreate the celebrated 80s cult film hit Evil Dead as a comic book. But the final product of artist John Bolton and letterer Steve Dutro is not what most would expect it to be--just a tired rehashing of the film on paper. Verheiden makes it clear in the comic that to do so would be a disservice to Raimi's original vision. Instead, Verheiden decided to "expand the movie, meeting our characters back in their pre - deadite lives and opening up the story to see what happened between the events seen on screen" The result is a well crafted comic and while the action of the plot might seem familiar to horror buffs, Verheiden skillfully seeks out and portrays the events found at the screen's edge, the stuff we don't get to see in the original film. There is more back story about the relationship between Linda and Ash, including how they fel...

“I wanted something savage to happen”--John Carpenter I know I am probably preaching to the choir of horror devotees out there, but if you haven’t already you should definitely look into IFC’s documentary on horror films from the 60s and 70s, The American Nightmare . The whole enchilada is available on YouTube and it’s a definite must see for any horror fan. Carol Clover, author of Men, Women and Chainsaws and the creator of the “Final Girl” theory in slasher films makes an appearance, and as you might have guessed from reading my sidebar I really enjoy her opinions on these leftist horror features. They interview the major directors from this period as well including John Carpenter, George Romero, David Cronenburg, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, and Tom Savini. I particularly enjoyed Hooper’s explanation of the genesis of Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Was it Sears or Wards?). The opening of Nightmare is famous for splicing together scenes from horror films ( Night of the Living Dead , Rabid et...

"She's special. She needs special food."--Madeline Matheson Grace I caught the trailer for this film on Fearnet.com . Grace plays around with fears about the relationship between mother and child that can sometimes turn from nurturing to parasitic. Madeline Matheson is in a car accident that causes her to miscarry her fetus, but decides to carry the child to term anyway. After giving birth to a stillborn baby in the bathtub, Madeline somehow wills the baby back to life. But her unnatural and undying love is not enough, and she soon discovers the horrible price of keeping little Gracie alive . Grace capitalizes on the notion of children as parasites both inside and outside the womb. How many times have we heard mothers tell their older children "I've given you the best years of my life" as they complain about lost youth and their figures? These kinds of sacrifices are made into the subject of horror, as Madeline realizes what she must do (i.e. kill, dismembe...

In Rob Zombie’s return take on the 70’s slasher, Michael Myers is still at large and just wants some quality time with his sister. Picking up where Zombie’s 2007 Halloween left off, the film follows Laurie Strode as she is rushed to the hospital with wounds inflicted by her brother a few hours earlier. She assumes that Michael is dead but in typical slasher style, Michael somehow lives and continues his murderous rampage on the hospital staff and anyone else unfortunate enough to get in his way. The original remake of Halloween was criticized for its lack of directorial vision, as Zombie fell into the trap of making a “typical” remake that wasn’t up to par with his gritty style of horror. As a result it was dubbed in some circles as Rob Zombie’s John Carpenter’s Halloween , but that is a mistake Rob Zombie won’t make again. Though he admits to the challenge of working with characters and a story that were not his own in the first film, Halloween II is a second chance for Rob Zombie t...